Shikamaru's Future
by SyilxPrincess
Summary: Shaikamaru was always working towards a goal. But it wasn't the one we were thinking of. Not even close.


**Shikamaru's Future**

Nara Shikamaru is a fairly easy person to understand. The lazy genius with almost no motivation. The one who would rather sit in a field and watch clouds all day. Shikamaru would rather that others do the bulk of the work while he does the bare minimum. He could find a way to do it too, that's just the way he is.

So why, you ask, is he currently sparring with one Uzumaki Naruto? Why go through all the work of actually moving around when he could be taking a nap, preferably somewhere in a field? Simple. He owed Naruto a favour after he helped him out of a tough spot involving Ino's butt and Shikamaru's hand.

Was it his fault that, at the exact moment he was trying to give directions to visiting shinobi, he was bumped into by passers-by; and the end result being his inadvertent groping of Ino? Of course it wasn't, but Ino was hearing none of it and was convinced that Shikamaru's inner pervert was finally-according to her- rearing its head for the world to see. Ino was threatening a BBQ date with Chouji and leaving the bill to Shikamaru, but Naruto managed to placate Ino's 'delicate feelings' (_"Honest, Ino. I don't think I would have held out as long as he did, hanging around you as much as he did and keep my hands to myself!"_).

He figured it would be better for all parties involved that he pay up now instead of later. Not much trouble can come from a simple sparring match with the blond now. But to be pulled into one of his hare-brained schemes later is a different matter entirely, one that could probably end Shikamaru in an even bigger mess than he started out with; knowing the blond. And Shikamaru knows Naruto all too well.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Kage Bunshin!"

_Just as expected, you never change, _thought Shikamaru as he uses a few shuriken to take out the majority of Naruto's clones, which disappears with a tell-tale _poof_. The remaining clones charge him but it's no trouble to destroy the remaining clones with a few moves of taijutsu.

A powerful kick to the chest to the clone at the right and his left leg follows through to destroy another clone with a similar kick. Which brings him face to with two more clones which are destroyed with a few simple punches delivered one after another. Only Naruto is left standing a few feet away in a wary pose, ready for whatever comes next. But Shikamaru is only standing there, watching him.

_If this is all he can do now, then he'll need more training if he plans on succeeding Tsunade-sama one day_, Shikamaru muses to himself.

"Hey! Aren't you going to attack me or something! Come on and fight, you lazy slacker!", Naruto argued. After all, wasn't it a spar they were in and not a some crazy dance where Naruto attacks and Shikamaru dodges artfully? All that would do is slightly improve Naruto's speed, but he can do that when he's off doing 'crazy' training with Rock Lee. If he has to call in his one favour to Shikamaru to get the lazy-ass to spar with him, then he damn well milk this for all it's worth!

"It's not much of a fight when you are so easy to read."

"At least I'm doing _something_!"

"Yeah, it's called getting your butt kicked." Shikamaru quipped.

Naruto roared. Almost too fast to see, he charged Shikamaru head on. At the last second Shikamaru blocked and spun to deliver a powerful kick to his back, only to be spurned by a substitution technique. He now stood alone in the training field, no sound but the wind in the trees and his own breathing. _So he's hiding now, great trait for a 'future leader'. If he's still serious about being Hokage he's got a lot to learn. Guess it's up to me to teach him, what a drag._

"Hey! Scaredy-cat, come out and fight! Or are you afraid of me?" Shikamaru yelled out to the empty field. _3... 2... 1..._

"I ain't afraid of nobody!" Out from Shikamaru's left, popped Naruto from the branches of the trees, fist poised to strike; only to whistle through the air as Shikamaru jumps overhead and lands a punch to his back. Naruto stumbles forward and spins to the right where Shikamaru is, a kunai appeared from his pouch poised to strike and catches the edge of his shirt beginning to tear. Only for him to be kicked to the ground and sent flying to the trees.

"Had enough yet?"

"Heh, I won't be done til you're on the ground begging for mercy." Naruto retorted. Settling into a fighting stance he faced Shikamaru, waiting for the next move.

"Amazing."

Out from behind Naruto walked another Shikamaru, obviously a clone, about to throw a kunai towards him. _When did he...? _Naruto wondered as he spun to the right, while raising his own kunai, to keep both of them in his sight.

"You didn't even notice a thing. If I were serious you would be dead by now." Shikamaru, the original, told him. They both cornered Naruto at the base of a tree.

"I'm still here." Naruto affirmed. "Still alive."

"But for how long?". A voice came from behind the tree. Naruto started but it was too late. He was trapped in place by the Kagemane no justu. A third Shikamaru joined the trio and face him. Naruto was surrounded, trapped in place with no conceivable escapes.

"How much longer will you live? When I have you trapped as easily as this?" Shikamaru wondered aloud.

"Why would I die here?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru is his friend, isn't he? They had faced the wrath of Iruka-Sensei back at the Academy, been on missions together. Surely he couldn't have forgotten all that they had shared up til then?

"Why else? So I can become Hokage, that's why." Shikamaru answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which to him it was. All this time, he was watching Naruto as well as staying by his side. 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer' is how the saying went, right? Well he stayed real close.

Nothing bad about wanting to gain insight about the 'competition', so to speak. And he was right to do it too, Naruto is competition all right. He can see it all now. It all starts with Naruto's promotion to jounin, and seeing his capabilities in today's fight, it could happen any day now; Shikamaru's no slouch and he was almost beat earlier. You could clearly see where his arm was almost cut.

"What! Why Hokage?" Naruto demanded.

From what Shikamaru could see, the Hokage has an easy job. Tsunade-sama is also a med-nin, that's why she has rounds at the hospital, helping where she can. Shikamaru doesn't have med-nin training, so he wouldn't have to go there as she does.

"Why not? There's not much work to be done besides sitting behind a desk all day."

If anything, he will be spending time with Intelligence while not working on paperwork. Paperwork is something he could deal with. Sure it would be a pain at times, but compared to sporadic missions on the field, lasting who knows how long, it was the lesser evil.

"And I won't even be doing it alone. I have people working under me too."

He even has the council to help him, he won't be doing everything himself. Who knows how long his leadership would last either? There is no shortage of ninja just waiting for their chance to be at the top. After he is succeeded, he can just quietly live at home with his family; if he has one at the time.

"Since when... Since when have you decided this! How long have you been planning this, huh?" Naruto asked, flailing as best he could while still held by Shikamaru's jutsu. _How can he be so calm about this? He wouldn't tell me everything if he wasn't planning to...No, not Shikamaru, he wouldn't do this to me would he?_

"Since the end of my first mission as chuunin. You seen how I had failed. I believe it's because I was too close, too close to see how my decisions were played out and their outcome. Though I tried my best to distance myself, it would be easier overall if I assigned duties from afar."

"So now what? What's gonna happen to me?"

"Why Naruto, I had more hope for you than this. What else is there for me to do but get rid of you?" Shikamaru moved in closer. The clones disappeared from the grounds, now it was just the two of them. Naruto was no longer held in place by the Kagemane, all the same he stayed right where he was. All he could do was look up at his friend with disbelief and a bit of fear in his eyes.

Moving in closer, Shikamaru looked down on his greatest opponent for the title of Hokage. It was simple, one flick of his wrist and he would be set for the rest of his days.

Naruto, keeping in mind the kunai in Shikamaru's hand, watched as he got closer still. Raising his head to keep him in sight, he looked on as one of his friends stood ready to kill him.

_Crap, what do I do? _Naruto thinks, looking for an escape. But it's no use, Shikamaru knows what he's doing and has trapped him completely.

Quick as a flash, Shikamaru moves his arm and the kunai flies towards Naruto.

_THUNK._

And the kunai embeds itself into the tree trunk behind Naruto, mere millimeters from his face. Then, a cut appears on Naruto's cheek showing how close he came to death, only to heal a few seconds later.

"But there's too many variables on becoming Hokage. I think I'll leave that to you. For now." Turning, Shikamaru leaves Naruto in the training grounds and heads back to the village.

Still tense against the tree, Naruto stays where he is and shouts back at Shikamaru.

"BUT WHY?"

Shikamaru pauses on his way back.

_Sigh._

"I'm an apathetic sociopath, I'd kill you if I cared."

Shikamaru continues walking back and leaves Naruto in the training grounds trying to gain sense of one of the most bizarre fights of is life.

* * *

><p>And that's that. Some of you might recognize that last line of Shikamaru's there. When I first read that, I first thought of Shikamaru haha. Near the end of writing this I wondered about continuing this. I don't know, what do you think? Can this even be continued? This is my first fanfiction ever. Hope I didn't suck too badly. I would like to know what you guys think. Thanks for reading!<p> 


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